Each section of the kit is packaged in a separate plastic bag thus
making following the step-by-step directions almost foolproof.

One of the hotly debated topics in the craftsman kit community is
whether to brace wood siding to avoid warping. BEST has solved this
question by creating a kit with inside walls which the wood siding is
glued to. The inside walls have grain which runs in the opposite
direction from the siding thus eliminating warping no matter whether one
paints with a water based or petroleum based paint.

I found this feature extremely helpful in construction and saw no signs
of warping from paint application. Here is a photo of the inside walls
with the siding being applied to the signal house after being painted
with Accu-paint primary which I used as the base and final gray coat for
the walls.

Another unique feature of the kit is the construction of the hip roof
using a cardstock pattern to be folded by the builder and the
self-adhesive shingles which are applied using a supplied guide to
insure straight application. This is a slow process no mater how you
shingle a roof, but the self adhesive aspect of these shingles made it a
lot less tedious than others I have used.

The most difficult part of the construction process on this kit is the
signal. As can be seen from photo below, it is well worth the effort. It
does require some patience to sting and attach the signal balls. I found
it necessary to ACC the cable to one of the pulleys and let dry before
stringing and gluing to the second. This made for an inoperable ball
system, but the weight of the balls would preclude that in any case.
Thus, one has to think through which railroad is going to get the
right-of-way before completing assembly of the ball signal. As can be
seen from my model, the MeC has the right of way.

However, a simple solution to this limitation is to not glue your signal
mast to its base, but rather insert in a tight fitting hole. In this
way, you can lift out the ball signal, turn the mast and reinsert and
thus will reverse the ball signal mast and give the competing railroad
the right of way.

Another unanticipated challenge was installing the chimney on the peak
of the roof. One has to carefully cut out an appropriate size hole
allowing the chimney to fit snugly so that it will not slide or fall
through. This must be done prior to the sub roofing being applied to the
building in order to avoid side splitting damage. I used a trial and
error method of making an initial small cut, mounting the sub roof on
the structure and slowly enlarging the hole with X-acto blade till the
chimney fit. I applied the shingles next and then reinserted and glued
the chimney allowing me to create an illusion of flashing at the base of
the chimney.

The kit is designed so that it the individual building components can be
configured as separate structures or combined to represent the
Whitefield office and attached buildings..

Modifications that I undertook in construction of the kit included using
rolled roofing (Builders in Scale part #274) on the shed portion of the
structure as well as on the oil tank overhang. Instead of using acetate
glazing, I used Micro-Mark Micro-Glaze Window glazing which I prefer as
it gives a somewhat opaque and dirty feeling to windows (obviously.
something you do not want to use on a building that youve labored over
an interior for). I also used a short piece of 1/8 KS brass tubing for
the stovepipe rather than a piece of doweling as this provides a more
prototypical looking pipe.

I would have appreciated more explanation on how to string balls on
signals and mast. Also, I would have appreciated a piece of 1/8 tubing
in the kit for shed stove pipe rather than a suggestion in the
directions to use a 1/8.

In spite of these minor issues, I found this to be an enjoyable kit to
construct with the instruction sheets to be easy to follow and all parts
cleanly cut and ready for construction. It is well worth the money for a
prototypical structure that will fit right in on your layout.

I thank Roger Robar for his prototype information which was not only
informative but also useful in the construction of the kit. Roger
informed me that the Whitefield office is in fact 200 yards back from
the signal tower, but few of us have that type of space on our layouts
and thus we revert to compression. Further, Roger noted that the ball
supplied for the kit are prototypically accurate for the years prior to
the early 1960s and that the buildings had rolled roofing from the
steam era into the transition period.